Welcome to the Standard Theatre Podcast's final episode of the year, our Christmas special!
Indulge us please, as we look back at a year of amazing theatre. Incredible performances like... Andrew Scott doing all the characters in an Ireland-set Vanya; Patsy Ferran and Anjana Vasan in A Streetcar Named Desire, making it more the story of two sisters that Tennessee Williams envisaged than we've ever seen it.
Then there's Nicole Scherzinger embodying the star power and anguish of Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd's knockout production of Sunset Boulevard. Oh yes, and Ruth Wilson onstage for 24 hours, yes that's 24 hours of non-stop theatre in The Second Woman, which will go down in history as a true London moment.
And then there've been some brilliant shows like Ryan Calais Cameron's Retrograde and For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy (coming back to the West End next year); the Bridge Theatre's utterly refreshed version of Guys & Dolls; Jack Thorne and Sam Mendes's The Motive and the Cue, which is in the West End right now, along with Dear England, James Graham's wonderful look at the changes wrought on football and the country by the diffident England Manager Gareth Southgate.
There's truly been so much to talk about. Grenfell: in the words of survivors was an exemplary example of a sensitively told story, created with care and attention in circumstances that had so, so much at stake. That show is going to New York for a month in 2024 – and we also talked about the shows we're looking forward to next year.
From Plaza Suite with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick to Charlie Josephine's Cowbois, coming to the Royal Court from the RSC; from The Hills of California, a new Jez Butterworth play set in Blackpool, coming to the Harold Pinter Theatre directed by Mendes, to Succession's Sarah Snook doing a Vanya on The Picture of Dorian Grey, playing all the roles, and Matt Smith starring in Thomas Ostermeier’s take on Ibsen's An Enemy of the People – it's going to be one hell of a year.
Listen to us talk about all these and more in the last episode of the year. Thanks for listening this year, and do remember you can write to us any time at theatrepod@standard.co.uk and tell us what you're excited about.
Merry Christmas, and have a happy New Year, with only the best kind of drama. We'll see you on January 7.
Nancy, Nick & Nick x
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